Department for Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has said problems highlighted in a report by the National Audit Office over the Government's flagship Universal Credit project were "historic" and he had intervened to sort them out.

Mr Duncan Smith told BBC Breakfast:

We took the earliest action, I brought in outside people. I lost faith in the ability of civil servants to be able to manage this programme, so brought in people from outside to ensure that this programme could be delivered within the scope of how it was planned and make sure that it was delivered within budget.

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Implementing Universal Credit has the potential to make or break millions of families, the chief executive of Citizens Advice said today, after the National Audit Office revealed that had not achieved "value for money".

Shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne has called for cross party talks over the Government's flagship Universal Credit project after the National Audit Office claimed that it had written off more than £30 million in failed IT.

An assessment of the Government's flagship Universal Credit did not cover progress made since April this year, a spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said today, after the National Audit Office claimed that it had written off more than £30 million in failed IT.

The report does not cover the significant developments we've made since April including the go-live in Greater Manchester, our progress on the IT challenge, the latest plans for expansion from October, or the fact that we brought in two of the country's leading project management experts to lead UC.

The NAO itself concludes that Universal Credit can go on to achieve considerable benefits for society.